Eternal Hearts (48 page)

Tears welled in Toni’s eyes. “There’s nothing special about me, Rob. I’m just as much of a monster as anyone else. The things I’ve done in my past…the awful things…they just prove it.”

“No, my dear, you are far from being a monster. You feel remorse for everything you’ve done, and that makes you more human than you will ever realize. It’s the very reason Drake loves you, and why the Ancients are so drawn to you. You are everything they once were, and everything they wish they could still be.”

Toni’s mouth turned into a sharp frown just before she started crying. And when she felt Robert’s arms wrap tightly around her, all she could do was hold onto him. No one had ever told her that she wasn’t the monster she thought she was. But now Robert had told her, and Drake had shown her. And for the first time, she wondered if the notion could actually be true.

“You are something very special, Toni. All you have left to do is realize that your past has made you exactly who you are now. I know it hurts. I know the death of your family still haunts you, but from enduring that pain you’ve become a more beautiful person than you will ever know. You don’t look at the world as something you can exploit. And you don’t overlook the little things, like telling someone to have a good night. I have yet to see you take anything or anyone for granted.”

She looked up at Robert. “It meant that much to you?”

“More than you will ever know.”

She drew a deep breath then went back to her chair. “Can I ask you something, Robert?”

“Of course you can.”

“Is there
anything
that makes him happy?”

Robert considered her question for a moment. “Yes, actually there is. The sky makes Christian quite happy.”

Toni frowned.
“The sky?
Why the sky? The sky is where the sun is, and I can’t imagine the sun would make him happy.”

Robert chuckled. “No, the sun doesn’t make him happy. Let me try to explain. When you left Chicago and came back, things were mostly the same, correct?”

She nodded.
“Yeah, for the most part.”

“Well, because of Christian’s advanced age, he isn’t able to simply return home to reconnect with his human side. His actual home doesn’t even exist anymore, and the land it was in no longer looks the same. However, the night sky is still very much the same.”

She blinked at him. “I don’t get it.”

He grinned. “Over the thousands of years that Christian has witnessed, the only thing that’s remained almost as unchanged as him is the night sky. No matter where he is, he can still look up at the stars and remember home.”

“Oh, I get it. Wow. I would’ve never thought about it like that. Maybe it’s because I’m still young enough that I can see my home whenever I want. All I have to do is drive down there.”

“And that’s the very reason why Christian made sure your home remained untouched.”

Toni slowly narrowed her eyes on him. “He’s the blond man?”

“And I’m the old guy,” Robert laughed.

Toni shook her head. She’d completely missed it when Tonya said it. And she never would have thought Christian would do anything like that for her after what she’d done. “I can’t believe you and Christian took care of my house.”

“It’s not that Christian didn’t understand why you did what you did, Toni. I assure you, he understands in a way most never will. But as the Lord, he above all else needs to follow the rules of the city. He chose to exile you because he knew he would have done the same if he were in your shoes. For as much as he’s lost his connection to the world, he still has moments I take great pride in. Keeping your home in the same state you remember is one of them.”

“What about giving Tonya Christmas presents?”

Robert nodded.
“Yes, that too.
Believe it or not, Christian was a father once, and he was the spoiling type of father. Tonya finds herself with presents all the time. Her mother often takes ill, and her father left when she was young. So when they are short on the rent or can’t afford clothes, Christian steps in and takes care of them.”

Toni smiled at that. “I always thought he was a good guy who just tried to hide it from everyone. I guess I was right all along.”

“Personally, I’m just glad the traits he had as a young man still shine through on occasion.”

“Me, too,” she said as she stood up. “Well, I guess I better get back upstairs before Dominic wonders what happened to me.”

“You probably should. Have a good night, Toni.”

Toni waved as she headed for the elevator. “You too, Rob.”

***

“Stryker!
Are you here? Stryker! Where are you?”

“I’m in the office,” Stryker yelled in response to Jayson’s panicked voice. When he appeared in the doorway, she didn’t even bother to look up at him. “Did you need something?”

“Everyone is dead… What the hell happened? Who killed them?”

She shrugged. “Must have been something they ate.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Don’t you even care that all your servants are dead?”

She looked up from her monitor and locked eyes with him, watching closely for even the faintest hint of deceit. “Not really, I have other things to do. Where were Dominic and Toni when you saw them last? You have been keeping an eye on them, right?

He withered under her heavy scrutiny. “The last time I saw them they were at Locke’s hotel downtown.”

“Do you know if they plan on going anywhere else?”

He wanted to lie to her; she could see the urge flashing behind his dark eyes. But just as he opened his mouth, he must have thought better of it. “They plan on checking out some alley after they finish going over some information they got from Lord Locke.”

“Really?
Do you know when they plan on doing this?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t. I don’t know what information they’re looking over or how long it’s going to take.”

Stryker scribbled an address on a piece of paper then held it out towards him. “I want you to go to this address and wait in your car, but hide yourself from view. I’m going to need your help with something a little later.”

He took the paper, gave it a quick once over, and then shoved it into his coat pocket. “Okay, anything else?”

“Actually, yes.
This time when you leave, try not to be such a treacherous child and run straight to Christian. Go to the address and wait, or this time…I
will
kill what remains of your family. And that includes your sister, her husband, and your newborn niece. Do you understand me?” She smiled when his eyes went wide. “Please tell me you understand me.”

He nodded. “I understand you.”

“Good, I should be at that address within the hour. And please, take what I just said to heart. You’ll be watched to make sure you adhere to exactly what I’ve told you. Right now, your sister is marveling at the beautiful dog that’s found its way onto her front porch. I would hate to see it attack her. Now go and do exactly what I’ve told you.”

Stryker smiled when Jayson scurried out of her office with his shoulders slumped. It really was a pity that he didn’t take more pride in her work. If he had, he would be the one sitting to her right when she assumed the throne of Chicago.

Her attention was drawn away from her pathetic excuse for a Child by her ringing cell phone. She picked it up. “Hello?”

“The device has been retimed. What do you want us to do now?”

She grinned with no small amount of satisfaction as she looked over at the clock. It was 2 a.m. This was going to be perfect. “Shut it off and let it sit. I want you and the twins to meet me in the alley at 3 a.m. At exactly the same time, I want your pack mates to assault Lord Locke’s office. We’re going to make sure everyone gets what they deserve tonight.”

“What are you talking about?”

Stryker chuckled into the phone. “Not only am I taking over the city tonight, but I’m going to serve you Alexander’s only surviving Children on a bloodstained silver platter.”

Chapter 23

As Toni approached her room, she couldn’t help but to laugh. All she heard coming from behind the door were growled swear words and curses in the sound of her brother’s voice. If she had to guess, she’d say that whatever he was looking for…he hadn’t found yet.

She opened the door and peeked inside to see Dominic stomping on the dog bite report. She just couldn’t resist. “What did it do to you? Did you not like the black ink? Or is it the paper?”

He turned around, brown eyes fixed on her. “You’re lucky you’re my
fuckin
’ sister. If you were anyone else, you’d be a grease stain by now.”

“Ya know,” she said as she closed the door behind her, “one of these days your temper is gonna get you killed.”

“I could say the same thing about your
fuckin
’ mouth.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m rubber, your glue.”

“You’re
fuckin
’ insane, that’s what you are. How can you not be frustrated right now?” He rubbed his forehead. “I know I keep telling you it’ll take time, but we’re running out of leads.”

“Oh, I’m frustrated,” she admitted. “I swear I live in the state constantly. Do you know how much I’ve been through over the last couple days?”

Dominic sank into the corner of the couch. “I never did get around to asking what’s been going on with you.” He patted the spot next to him. “Sit down and tell me what’s up.”

She sat down next to him. “Well, for starters, I met this really great guy when I came back to Chicago. And let’s just say it went good for awhile, but then it kinda went to hell in so many ways…”

Dominic scowled. “Did he hurt you? If he did I’ll kick his ass!”

“No, well…kinda, but we worked it all out. It’s just that he’s best friends with Oktober, which is kinda hard for me to take.”

Dominic blinked at her. “You’re dating Drake?”

She smiled at the mention of his name. “Do you know him?”

“Yeah, I
fuckin
’ know him. You sure know how to pick ‘
em
. He’s one bad motherfucker. How the hell did
you
meet
him
?”

“I was talking to Brick and 8-Ball when I got here, and then Drake showed up…and when Brick got a call about someone getting caught feeding on Rush Street, Drake said he’d stay with me until they were finished cleaning it up. But then they left and Christian showed up…and he told Drake he
had
to stay with me…so he did and, well…Drake had a protection contract on me anyway, so…things just kinda happened.”

“I can’t believe you hooked up with Drake…”

Toni squirmed as a feeling of doom settled in her stomach. It never seemed like anything good ever came out of what someone else had to say about Drake. “What? Please don’t tell me you know some secret about him that’s gonna make me even
more crazy
.”

“No, Drake’s a good guy. I’m glad I don’t have to beat his ass.”

She stared at him. “What are you not telling me?”

“It’s not about Drake.” He sat quiet for a moment then cocked his head. “Did Drake have a contract on you when you first got here? Or did he show up later?”

“I met him probably an hour or so after I got here. Why?”

“Because if Drake had a contract on you when you got here…that means nobody else could have one on you. And that means whoever hired Oktober to kill our family couldn’t hire him to kill you since there was already a contract on you. I told you I did some work for Oktober, right?”